Daytona Rolex 24: The Longest Night in Racing

Ganassi Racing's second team car

It's a little after 5:00 in the morning as I write this and I am back in the media center. I got a few hours of sleep which is more than I can say for a lot of people around me, many of whom have stayed up through the night. Wayne Taylor Racing with Max Angelelli is currently leading with a little more than nine hours to go. Sunrise will be with us in a couple of hours and I still have some other shooting to do. I will make a swing through the pits and then head out to the bus stop again after hitting the oval track Turn 4 area. There have been 11 cautions so far but remarkably nearly 60 cars of the original 68 which started are still running. That in itself is pretty amazing.

Patrick Dempsey 

Before I grabbed a little sleep in my car here at the track, I had been in the pits and saw Patrick Dempsey take over the #27 Porsche. The pit setups each team has are incredible with large, well lit tents enveloping everything they need to compete twice around the clock. The driver changes have always been one of my favorite parts of sports car racing and a 24 hour race has them in droves. There's so much to like about sports car racing that I can see why people have it as their favorite form of motorsports. Living in Indiana most of my life, everyone knows that Indycars are where my heart lies but I do love the sounds and smells of these TUDOR sports cars.

Going out to make some pictures now, so until then here's an updated gallery to tide you over until my next update.